Drought in Saint Francis County, AR: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Saint Francis County, AR: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (38 wk), 2001 (18 wk), 2005 (20 wk), 2006 (17 wk), 2007 (14 wk), 2010 (23 wk), 2011 (23 wk), 2012 (29 wk), 2022 (21 wk) and 2023 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Plan for drought as normal: shrink the lawn, go drip and natives

Drought is the normal state of things here. Most of the yard goes to natives and gravel on drip; any grass that stays is a small, tough patch.

If you are replacing turf, plant natives in fall so roots set before the Oct peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of AR

13th most drought-prone of 75 AR counties; the AR middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Lonoke County (3.8 in 10) and Jackson County (3.8 in 10). Driest in AR: Lee County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Clay County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (33% of weeks), then Nov (31%) and Sep (31%). Least in May (7%). May to September averages 19%.

23 Jan
17 Feb
12 Mar
11 Apr
7 May
10 Jun
16 Jul
30 Aug
31 Sep
33 Oct
31 Nov
28 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 38 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.7% at D2, 1.7% at D3, 4 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 39 weeks, Jul 27, 2010 to Apr 19, 2011.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 30 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.